These MIJ shells [lauan] are also blended spieces from what i can see,so i assume they would be poplar or whatever.I suppose my in interest in all of this is that the word inferior pops up all the time when you mention MIJ.Im not comparing them to ANY high end offering from the bigs of our day,but i truly believe that in the maze of who made what for who back in the 60,s,a real nice "copy" shows up and when you look at it you say..now thats not to bad at all....thats all im sayingStorm Trooper

I think the true mahogany is Cuban mahogany, which is pretty much extinct. They say Honduran mahogany is the closest relative. I think they are all related, somehow.

I can attest that the wood on the Pearl African Mahogany Limited Edition kit I owned was indeed pure AF all the way through. I opted for Maple rerings for structural integrity. There was no other wood involved in those plies. They play DEEP and jungle dark with resonance to spare. One of the best kits I've ever owned.